Social Welfare Appeals
Dail Éireann — 2026-09-24
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Louise O'Reilly (SF), Dublin Fingal West

An overturn rate of 60% points to a problem. I also thank the people in the appeals office. We deal with them on a regular basis and I know they are doing their best. Having said that, there is an issue. I cannot think of any other instance where there would be a 60% overturn rate. That kind of rate is a structural failure. I am not necessarily calling it an "error rate", but the original decisions are not good and that is why they are overturned. In the intervening time, families are left without money. I welcome the fact that the waiting time is coming down, but it is still nine weeks that people will be left without money and there will then be more time required to process that. There is only so much that people can do while they are waiting. There is a toll on families.
I welcome the focus on the appeals process. I would welcome and appreciate it were the committee to get regular updates on what is happening and if things are going in the right direction. Sometimes, the anecdotal evidence takes a while to catch up, and that is fine and I am perfectly willing to accept it. For the moment, however, I see from the people coming into my office and from people contacting me from outside my constituency that the 60% figure is a worry.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-09-24/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-09-28T05:50:50+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-09-24